The Bad Choirmaster's Handbook
by Basmathgirl
Summary: Bad Mother's Handbook/Nativity 2 Tatennant crossover. When Karen Cooper gets the job of showing Roderick Peterson around Bank Top Primary School she didn't imagine for a second that she would grow to like him, let alone love him. [Sequel to Gallifreyan Productions ]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** apart from the bits **JustAReader199** encouraged me to include in this sequel to "Gallifreyan Productions", not much here belongs to me beyond the book and the DVDs.  
 **A/N:** using the plot bunny from this post, I wrote and am posting this for **tkelparis** 's birthday. Happy birthday, love!  
 **A/N2:** I ended up buying and reading "The Bad Mother's Handbook" as part of my research (which was no hardship, I assure you). Eeee the things you do….

* * *

 **The Bad Choirmaster's Handbook**

 **Part 1**

.

Roderick Peterson was generally a patient man. His cool exterior gained him a great deal in life; almost as much as his determination and ambition did. But sitting in the assembly hall of a northern junior school just outside Bolton for the benefit of a culture committee was **not** his idea of entertainment.

Of course he blamed his brother Donald. "Go out and experience the masses. See some normal people," he had said. "Being stuck in the rut of a private school is weakening your life. We've got a special festival soon so why don't you come and see us?"

So Roderick had followed his advice and accepted the first offer that came his way. It had led him straight here to the village of Bank Top, listening to the mediocre offerings of an untutored choir in a school that had forgotten Christmas was long over, it would seem; judging by the pathetic pieces of tinsel that adorned the stage. He couldn't help the sneer that forced its way onto his lips, and he didn't exactly fight it off either.

That is, he didn't, until a slightly familiar looking figure eased down onto the seat next to him, which happened to be the only vacant chair in the vicinity. It was only as she sat down that he realised who she reminded him of, and he desperately railed against the welcome he subsequently wanted to give her. Physically she reminded him of his new sister-in-law, Donna; who in turn had made him think of Sophie, the young woman his twin had been so enamoured with in their youth, back when they had started university. It was strange how similar their characteristics were.

In light of that, it was best that he didn't react in a familiar manner and kept a respectful distance. That inevitably meant avoiding any and all physical contact. Alas, she stiffened beside him.

Karen Cooper had cautiously made her way into the school hall, hoping to watch the events going on. Damn Jason Outhwaite! He'd caused her to miss the beginning of everything by being a right little pig. She'd have words with his mother later. Being late meant that she couldn't sneak into the back and into her usual position amongst the other teaching assistants because it had already been taken by some visiting bod. No idea who they were.

The only seat left had been next to a rather austere looking man with slicked back hair, dressed all in black; the style of which was both casual smart and expensive in quality. He was clad in black trousers, retro glasses, a black blazer, and underneath it, a black cashmere polo neck jumper. No doubt his underwear was equally expensive too. As was the scent of his after shave.

On the other side of him sat Nicholas Brassingham, the local primary school education inspector. She exchanged pleasant smiles with them both as she sat down, and adjusted her position so that she encroached on the stranger's personal space as little as possible.

He flashed her a questioning glance when her handbag fell over and hit him in the ankle; not with any force, mind you. Not one to back down from a challenge, she gave him her sweetest smile and then returned her attention to the school performance going on in front of them.

They were showcasing the school as part of the proposed City of Culture scheme soon to be implemented, if the mayor of Bolton had his way. Although quite honestly, Karen couldn't have cared less in that moment. Mainly because she had been forced to sit in the front row, in the only seat available; well away from the other teaching assistants. They'd think she was suddenly trying to elevate herself.

Anyway, that was by the by. She was stuck sitting next to some stiff who wriggled about in his seat as he attempted to subtly move as far away from her as possible. Berk!

Fervent movement to her side made her look up, and she saw a pleasantly rotund middle aged man gesturing silently at her. It was Leo Fairbrother, the school's headteacher, who stood wavering nearby, gazing at her anxiously. He answered her questioning stare by quietly saying, "You're sitting in my seat."

Immediately she tried to stand, flushed with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry. I'll just…"

"No, you stay," the stranger instantly offered, reaching out as though he would try to physically halt her retreat, "and I'll go find a spot to stand in at the back of the hall."

She gawped at him. "I can't let you do that."

"It would be no bother, I assure you," he smoothly declared, noting as he stood that she was taller than most women; reaching passed his shoulder. It was refreshingly different not to have to look down so much. "A lady should always be given preferential treatment."

You what! Her mouth moved wordlessly for some seconds as her brain enjoyed his gentlemanly attention. It caused her to totally miss Leo faffing about, looking for a chair and ordering the nearest child to fetch one for him. In the end, she feebly murmured, "But you're the guest of honour."

She didn't know that for sure if he was or not, but it was a good guess in the circumstances. Not many people would have been plonked on the front row like that; especially if Leo was after a seat.

Now amused rather than annoyed, Roderick's suave smile came out with full force. "It would be my pleasure."

"All sorted," Leo loudly proclaimed as a chair arrived and he propped himself at the end of the row of seats. "You can sit back down, Ms Cooper." And further entertain our guest, he silently added. "There's no need for Mr Peterson or anyone else to move."

"After you," Roderick invited her to reseat herself before he did.

Now cornered, Karen sat back down next to the stranger, feeling much better about his company.

~o0o~

Everyone politely clapped as the Lostock Primary School choir on the stage finished singing and their choirmaster bowed. Karen breathed a sigh of relief that this whole business would be over in a matter of seconds. Okay, the man sitting beside her had offered her small smiles every now and then, which helped relieve the air of formality that surrounded him, but she had other things to do and places to go. Things like cutting out thirty stars for her class to stick purple glitter on.

She had only just retrieved her handbag from the floor to fling over her shoulder when Leo broke into her thoughts by requesting, "Would you show Mr Peterson here where the staffroom is, please?"

'What, me?' she had wanted to query but the man in black spoke up instead.

"I'm sure Ms Cooper has more pressing matters to attend to then escorting me," Roderick commented.

"You don't mind, do you?" Leo aimed at her, grinning expectantly. "I'll be along in just a moment."

What could she say in answer to that? "Of course I don't mind," she trilled. "If you would follow me," she offered in Roderick's direction. 'Well, I suppose I can give him ten minutes or so,' she pondered.

Behind her, Roderick tried to keep his gaze on the back of the ginger tresses that emblazoned her head as she lead him through the narrow pathway left by the throng of children as they filed out of the hall towards their classrooms; but his eyes kept dipping down to the unconscious sway of her hips. He suspected that the headmaster had volunteered her assistance to appease him in some way. It was certainly working, because his mood had brightened considerably.

It remained in upbeat mode despite Leo soon joining them as they walked through the carpeted corridor to the staffroom and toward the promise of refreshments within.

"No, Ms Cooper," Leo halted her attempt to leave them and return to her appointed classroom. "There's no need to go off just yet. Why don't you entertain Mr Peterson here while I arrange some tea for us all? Sylvie seems to have mislaid the orange squash for the visiting children."

Feeling Roderick's eyes bore into her from behind his horn-rimmed glasses, she somewhat reluctantly agreed. Being alone with him wasn't exactly her idea of joy as other people filed into the room.

"Sylvie is the school secretary," she informed him.

"Ah, yes," he acknowledged. "I met her when I arrived this morning."

That meant that Sylvie would be keen to gossip about him later, knowing her. It took all of Karen's effort to stifle a giggle at the prospect of discussing him. "Where you from then?" she had then asked him to create a conversation.

"London, originally," he answered.

Of course he was, she told herself. Only someone from London would have sat there looking as though he had a stick up his butt. He was doing a pretty good job of standing to attention in the middle of the staffroom as though the stick was still propping him up. "I went there once, on a day trip," she supplied. "It's a big place."

"How very nice for you." This chit chat was boring him. He would much rather get to know her better. "What do you teach here?"

"Oh I don't teach; not real teaching," she answered modestly. "I'm a just teaching assistant."

"I assure you, you are not 'just' anything," he leaned in to voice. Her nostrils flared in a slight panic, so he quickly stepped back. "I myself currently work in the education sector on a professional basis. I mentor the choir of St Cuthbert's College."

She frowned as the name raced through her mind. "I think I've heard of it. Isn't that some posh private school?"

"An independent school," he corrected. "Yes."

"So you're a music expert?" she wondered.

He nodded. "I have gained some fame as both a composer and conductor."

"Peterson. Peterson," she mulled over the name. "You're not Roderick Peterson by any chance?" she joked.

"Yes, I am, actually," he confirmed; pleased to see the shock on her face.

"But you wrote that music," she floundered. "The one with the violins, from that alien film."

He knew the piece she meant, but felt it best to merely nod. John and Andy would not be pleased to find out that their award winning creation was known as 'that alien film' but it might be fun to tell them anyway. "Indeed I did."

"What must you think of me?" Karen gasped in horror. "I almost sat on your lap earlier."

"Well, not quite," he mildly disagreed. "But I'm sure your husband would not approve if you had."

"Pft! Haven't got one of those," she huffed. "I divorced him a long time ago."

This was getting better and better. Roderick had to fight the urge to blurt out an invitation of the dating kind. "Would you care to join me in a cup of tea or coffee?" he proposed instead as a tea trolley appeared in the staffroom.

"Eeee, I thought you'd never ask," she replied, and smiled prettily at him.

As he left her side to attain two cups of tea, he realised that this could turn out to be a very dangerous game. Only time would tell.

~o0o~


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

.

The idle chatter in the staffroom didn't interest Karen at all. Well, it was the visiting guests who continually voiced one opinion or another; and her thoughts kept drifting away, to the display she had promised to create with the aid of Miss Chesterton's class.

Could she do it? Could she actually get away with just sneaking off now that Roderick Peterson had stopped using her as a social buffer? Poor bloke had looked totally out of his depth at first, although with the number of singing competitions he had apparently taken part in you'd have thought he could have walked this situation. Oh well, just goes to show that you never know people.

Or in her case, get to know people. Mr Peterson was a complete conundrum to her. I mean, one second he was all knowledge and arrogance, and the next he was silently pleading with her not to abandon him.

She snorted scornfully at the thought. As if a bloke like him would ever need someone like her beyond providing some sort of domestic service. He was probably eyeing her up as a potential childminder, knowing her luck. Fat chance of that ever happening. There'd be no whisking off to exotic climes in her future. Her life was tied down to looking after her ailing mother since she had had a stroke, and supporting her daughter Charlotte through her university course now that she had baby William. Okay, Charley (as they called her) had Daniel to help her, but you never know with men. They do love to up and leave; or totally fail in their duty as a husband, like her own ex-husband had done. The lazy good for nothing. At least Steve was trying his best to be a decent father to Charley, at long last. And about time too.

Nicholas Brassingham had collared Roderick in the corner, almost chewing his ear off by droning on about the state of music education in primary schools, seen as he experienced going round inspecting schools, so Karen felt she could make a quick getaway while no one was noticing her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Leo agitatedly whispered as Karen took a step towards the staffroom door in order to make her escape.

"Playground duty," she hissed back, "so I can't hang around here any longer."

She desperately hoped he didn't suspect she was lying because the room was beginning to stifle her with all the talk about choirs, culture and whatnot. None of it meant a great deal to her, despite Leo saying it could bring extra funding to the school. One thing she was certain of: they all wanted a piece of Roderick Peterson to bolster themselves up.

"Oh go on then," Leo huffed in mild annoyance. Like most things about him, it was mild. "But mind I might need you to come back later."

"Will do," she quickly agreed, giving Roderick a quick glance in an attempt to say "Bye". But he wasn't paying her any attention, so she scampered off while she could.

Once in the corridor, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was free of having to hobnob with the visitors and was back in the land of the normal. With a plan to meet up with Sylvie the school secretary later and get the latest gossip on how things went, she hurried to Miss Chesterton and her charges.

Back in the staffroom, Roderick raised his head and sniffed. Karen's scent was no longer obviously nearby, so he turned his head to seek her out. Alas, she wasn't there. How annoying.

Leo had seen the action and moved closer to offer an explanation for what he presumed was Roderick wondering why Karen had left without saying anything. "Are you alright? Sorry, but Karen, Ms Cooper, has playground duties she has to attend to. You didn't need her for anything, did you?"

Roderick opened his mouth to suggest something, but the words wouldn't come. He knew he wanted her there, but he couldn't say why. "No, nothing, thank you. It had been kind of her to stay with me for company."

"She has many fine qualities," Leo agreed. "We can get her back later if need be, but I wanted to discuss…"

The talking went on and on. It took all Roderick's might to remain open to their suggestions, but his thoughts were whirling away with possible plans for when… IF… he remained there to work with these particular children. "Why don't you show me your music facilities," he requested.

Yes, it was going to be a long battle.

~o0o~

By the time three o'clock arrived, Roderick was more than willing to leave for the day. The education inspector, Nicholas, had persuaded him to give Bank Top School a week of his time in order to see if he could create a decent choir for them or not. Well, he allowed Nicholas to think he had talked him into it; but he had decided to try the place out for at least a week within the first half hour of stepping foot over the threshold. Just after he had met Ms Cooper, he admitted to himself, although he was a trifle reluctant to do so.

Almost as reluctant as he was to mentally call her 'Karen'. That would be too personal to do just yet. And he wanted to gain that authority to do so, a great deal. Straightening his shoulders, he marched down the school corridor towards the outer door that led to where his car was parked. But he stopped midway, and turned, wondering if he should find Miss Chesterton's classroom and peep in to see if Ms Cooper were still there. He had the excuse of politely saying goodbye to her to cover his actions should she become uncomfortable with the gesture.

So he casually sauntered down passed several classrooms, glancing at the nameplates to see who they belonged to. "Ah," he gasped when he found the right one.

"Hello. Can I help you?" a dark haired willowy woman in her mid-twenties asked when she saw him standing outside her classroom. "All the children have gone home."

"Miss Chesterton? I was trying to find Ms Cooper," he suavely explained, "since I did not have the chance to speak to her again."

"I thought I recognised you as one of our visitors rather than a parent," Miss Chesterton replied. "Sorry, Karen has left for the day. Did you want me to pass on a message?"

"No need," he dismissed her. "I shall talk to her another time. Thank you."

He turned tail, and she gawped at him. Well! She could see what Karen meant now that she'd seen him for herself. The arrogance just rolled off him. No doubt the children would soon knock off those rough edges or he'd never get any cooperation from them.

But Roderick didn't care. He was angry, and stormed down the corridor and shoved the exit doors out of the way. If he hadn't been waylaid by Leo at the last moment he could have caught hold of Ms Cooper in plenty of time. Now, he had to try and make amends on a different day.

His scowl stayed in place as he started up his car, put it into gear, and drove the five yards that led out of the school playground car park. There was nothing for it but to return to his hotel room and then contact his mother to let her know that things were okay. After that, he intended to finalise plans to meet up with his brother Donald.

He hadn't driven very far down the road when he spotted a flash of ginger hair. His heart immediately skipped a beat in excitement. Had he found her? Just in case he had, he slowed down and wound down the car window. Being a stranger in the village would work to his advantage if it wasn't her because he could feign ignorance whilst asking for directions "Excuse me?!" he called out.

The woman bodily turned in his direction, to reveal that she was clasping a pile of coloured papers tightly to her chest in case the wind decided to blow the whole lot away. "Yes?" she queried, and then recognised who had called out to her. "Hello again! I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to you earlier. Are you lost?"

"A little," he confessed ambiguously. "I'm glad I've got the chance to talk to you again." The overcast sky above them growled angrily. "It looks like it might rain any second. May I offer you a lift home?"

"I've not got far to walk," she polite declined. But the spit spots of rain made her look up into the clouds for a second.

"Please. It would be my honour," he assured her; and pressed a button on his central console that loudly clicked to denote the passenger door was now unlocked.

"Alright then," she agreed. "But it really isn't far."

He waited patiently for her to clamber in beside him, depositing her bag in the foot well and still clasping the stack of paper in her lap. "It's just up there," she said, pointing helpfully. "So, did you have a nice day?"

"It was as I expected," he acknowledged.

"Is that good or bad? That turning there," she requested with another point of her finger. "We're up near the green."

There were many houses that edged 'the green', as she had described it; all of them semi-detached council houses, or ex-council houses, judging by their décor. "Which one?"

"This one," she answered as they drew up outside a house that had been painted white and red, with black fake window shutters on the windows, a reclaimed wagon wheel in the front garden, along with a white bench seat. She had proudly redecorated it when she had bought it during the 'right to buy' period from the local council. "This is me, thanks."

Karen then caught his expectant gaze on her.

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" she felt duty bound to offer in payment for his kindness. If he said 'no' it'd be no skin off her nose. "I might be able to rustle up a slice of cake too; if Mum hasn't hidden it away somewhere." Somewhere like inside the toaster or under a cushion, again.

A wide face-splitting smile broke out all over his face, shocking her in the process. "That would be lovely, thank you."

"Come on then," she cheered him on. "You can hold these for me." And with that she thrust the pile of papers into his hands. "And if you've got nothing better to do, you can help me cut out some stars later on. I never got the chance to do them earlier since I'd had to spend longer in the staffroom than I had hoped."

She had expected him to quickly decline the 'offer', but he merely smiled whimsically as guilt threatened to overwhelm him. So she carried on searching through her bag for her front door key. What an odd bloke, she thought. Was this really the bloke Sylvie had told her was an arrogant shit? Didn't seem like it in that second. Perhaps he was merely misunderstood.

~o0o~


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** not exactly a popular choice, this pairing, but it _has_ brought my hiding muse many happy hours writing it.

* * *

 **Part 3**

.

His eyes were subtly everywhere as they entered her home. It wasn't often that Roderick had been in such a property, not since his own student days, so his inquisitiveness was alerted to new heights. As far as he could tell, the downstairs comprised of a lounge, dining room and kitchen, with a small hallway that led to the stairs up to the bedrooms; but this place had obviously had an extension built onto the back of it. The lounge and dining room were configured in an open plan way, with a door that opened onto the garden, and another door that might lead to a utility room or office.

Dumping her bag onto the dining table, Karen couldn't help wondering how much Roderick was judging her home. She was proud of all her achievements in doing it up, having followed the advice offered by such BBC TV programmes like "Changing Rooms", "DIY SOS", and "Real Rooms"; but would he find it wanting in major areas?

"Right, let's get the tour quickly done. As you can see, this is where we sit and eat, the kitchen is through there, and that door is the downstairs bathroom I had built for Mum." She then quietly added, "When she had her bowl cancer op."

He dutifully nodded in understanding. It had been mentioned when they had stood in the staffroom together and he had asked what she did with her spare time. Basically, it was taken up caring for her mother's many needs now that she was old and frail.

Seated in an upright fireside chair was an elderly woman, lightly snoring. He presumed this was her mother; except they looked nothing alike. As they both gazed at her, the woman snorted awake and viewed them through confused eyes.

"Hello sleepyhead. Mum, this is Roderick Peterson. He's been visiting the school as part of the choir initiative Leo signed us up for," Karen introduced him.

"Let's have a look at him then," Nancy requested. "There's nowt of him. I don't bite," she cheerily informed him.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Cooper," Roderick greeted her with a gentle shake of the hand.

"Good lord, I'm not a Cooper. Karen became that when she married Steve," Nancy responded. "I'm Nancy Hesketh."

Roderick felt his spirits dip low. Had Karen remarried? He thought she said she was divorced, but she could be involved with someone else. How could he have missed that little detail? "Sorry for the mistake."

"Nowt to worry about," Nancy pleasantly assured him. "Did you bring me in something for dinner? I could eat a buttered frog."

"Yes, Mum," Karen answered. "I'll go get it and put on some tea."

"That's nice of you," Nancy acknowledged her reply. "My daughter Karen normally brings me in something."

"I **am** your daughter Karen," she stated with some exasperation. Some things never changed. One minute her mother knew who she was; the next, she didn't. "Did anyone call while I was at work?"

"Charlotte popped in on her way through to see Daniel, but Steve can't have the baby yet, though he promised."

Typical him running late! That man would be late for his own funeral whilst probably not caring a jot about it. And she was supposed to be grateful now that he showed an interest in his child and grandchild. "Has the baby been okay?" Karen asked.

"He's out for the count. She left him in the cot upstairs." Nancy then turned her gaze onto Roderick. "Have you seen him yet?"

Things were getting worse; she had a young baby son too. This meant he would have the cup of tea Karen had invited him in for, and then leaving as quickly as possible. Roderick politely answered, "No. It must be wonderful to have a new grandson."

"Nay, he in't my grandson. He's my great grandson," Nancy explained. "Karen is his grandmother. Eee, he is bonny."

What?! All thoughts of bowing out gracefully and licking his wounds later, fled from his mind. Then a thin wail came from above them.

Karen looked as though towards the heavens. "Won't be a mo'," she cautioned as she ran up the stairs.

She reappeared some moments holding a young baby, aged about nine months old. "Yes, I know," she was crooning to the boy in her arms. "It must be terrible having to spend some time with granddad, but what are we to do? He insists on seeing you when he gets the chance."

"Is he alreet?" Nancy queried, fidgeting as though she were eager to hold him.

"He's fine. Mr Peterson… Roderick," she amended when he slightly scowled to correct her, "this is our William. My Charlotte's baby boy, Will."

He bent nearer, but didn't know what else to do. "Hello William," he murmured to the baby.

William merely regarded him with little interest beyond the fact that he was wearing glasses; and his podgy little hands tried to reach out to touch them.

"Karen, I need a hand," Nancy cautiously admitted, waving hand for help out of her chair.

"It's alright, Mum," Karen assured her. "Here, Roderick, can you hold him a minute while I deal with Mum? She needs changing."

His reassuring grin slipped when he recalled her saying that her mother wore a colostomy bag. Ew! Rather her than him. Out of the two, holding baby William was the lesser evil. "Oh course." He replied, holding out his arms to receive the boy.

It had been an awfully long time since he had held a child; and he wasn't very practised in the task. There had been the odd occasion holding Donald's David when he was first born, and of course he had had more dealings with John's Jenny, but she had been older by then and cared little for his attention beyond shoving books in his hands. This, holding a young child, was a whole different kettle of fish.

Left as he was with a bemused baby in his arms, Roderick wondered how he was supposed to entertain the tot while Karen dealt with her mother.

After much shuffling about, Karen expertly manoeuvred her mother into the downstairs bathroom and shut the door. The inner dealings of changing a stoma bag did not need to be shared with the wide world.

What Karen came back to made her hold her breath in glee. She was met by the sight of Roderick swaying Will and quietly singing to him, in the most adorable fashion. He bounced the baby up and down, blew out funny noises, and generally sang an amusing foreign song that she had never heard before; but it obviously had thoroughly enchanted Will.

"Oh!" He abruptly stopped his shanty or whatever it was, and Roderick blushed with embarrassment. "He seemed a little fractious so I was just…"

"He seems to like it," she commented, stepping fully into the room. "You're a natural with him."

"No, I assure you I'm not," he blustered. "I've had very little dealings with babies."

"You'd never know," she complimented. "But you might want to go a bit easy with the bouncing. He gets all-"

As if on cue, baby William threw up all over the front of Roderick's jumper and jacket.

"Oh no!" she shrieked. "I'm so sorry! Hang on a minute."

"You've made a right mess of your clothing," Nancy observed as she passed him on her slow progress back to her chair. "What did you do that for?"

"It wasn't intentional," Roderick answered her query, but his attention was on appeasing Karen whilst keeping Will from making bodily contact with the vomit that covered his front. "There's no need for you to do that," he tried to say, but she was already desperately seeking out paper towels to mop up the damage.

"Look at the state of you," she cried in despair as she arrived back with a wodge of scrunched up paper in her hands. "All over your lovely cashmere jumper. It'll take some getting out. And you can stop laughing too," she aimed towards Will, who merely grinned with some satisfaction at her. "Better out than in. No doubt that was why he was grizzling; an upset stomach. Either that or he can't abide the thought of spending a couple of hours with Steve. At least Will looks brighter now."

"It really is no problem," Roderick insisted, still gently holding William while Karen dabbed desperately at his clothing but narrowly missing losing his glasses all together to the boy's curiosity.

"Don't talk daft! If I don't get this muck cleaned off this'll be ruined. And I can't afford to buy you a replacement," she chided. "Come up to the main bathroom and I'll put some cold water on it properly. No arguing."

So he did as he was told, and started to follow her to the stairs. No doubt the ground floor bathroom that had been put in the extension for the benefit of her mother was full of other, incriminating stuff. Best not go there. "What shall I do with William?" he wondered.

"Mum! Can you come and watch Will for a minute?" she called out.

"Just put him in the highchair," Nancy suggested. "Karen'll be back in a minute to see to him."

For the second time that day she had to state, "I **am** Karen. Hopefully Steve will be here in a minute." She then quietly added to Roderick, "If he gets his lazy arse in gear, for once."

Moments later she was mopping him down with a cold sponge in the closed confines of her upstairs bathroom and sighing in exasperation.

Keeping her eyes on her task, she had to admit defeat as he tried not to shiver. "It's no good; I'll have to put your jumper and jacket in the washing machine or you'll reek of sick for the rest of the day. Good job I keep some Dreft for baby clothes. Take it off and I'll go find you something to wear in the meantime. Charley is bound to have something of Daniel's squirreled away in her old room."

"I'm terribly sorry about this," he apologised, taking his time to calculate how best to take hold of the bottom hem in order to remove the woollen garment.

"What're you sorry for? This isn't your fault," she answered. "Just wait there. Help yourself to soap and water, and I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, she swept out of the room.

Smelling of baby sick was not his idea of fun, so he quickly began to divest himself of first his jacket and then his jumper; making sure to empty out his pockets. Was he being punished for coveting another man's partner? Is this what this was all about?! He silently swore to the heavens above that he would never try doing this again as long as he lived.

He rebuked his reflection above the sink for even _thinking_ he could have impressed a woman. I mean; him and a female of the species. It just didn't normally happen. Of course he had had his admirers who tried to flatter him, but he was aware of their power game and he consequently did nothing more than contribute to the same rules. But as far as romantic liaisons went, no one was truly interested. His manner was too brusque, he had been told.

With a deep sigh, he finished washing, blatantly ignoring the scent of the soap that she commonly used as a personal punishment, and turned to find a towel to dry his exposed upper body. At that second, Karen burst into the bathroom.

"I found this sweatshirt. It should fit you alright while I deal…" Her words faded abruptly as her eyes landed on his face, dropped to take in his chest, and hastily sought out his eyes again. "You look different without your… your... erm… glasses on," she feebly commented.

Oh my! His chest was nicely toned, pleasingly covered with a fluttering of dark hairs, his mushed up hairstyle gave his face a completely new affect, and his eyes smouldered with warmth as he gazed back at her. Right before he covered his body with the nearest towel as though he'd been caught doing something disgraceful.

She quickly grabbed his discarded clothing. "I'll be downstairs," she threw at him as she made her hasty exit.

 _That could have gone better_ , they both thought.

~o0o~


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I just couldn't resist adding in his brothers like this.

* * *

 **Part 4**

.

Somebody in the distance knocked on the front door, and voices filtered up to him, but he assumed it was an idle visitor. His attention was on donning the sweatshirt Karen had loaned him, and trying to get his hair back into an acceptable style.

Failing miserably, and frustrated with the way his hair flopped into his eyes, he went downstairs to ask for a comb to use. "Is there possibly….? Oh! I wanted Karen," Roderick apologetically explained as he entered the lounge and found only Nancy sitting in her chair.

"If you want her, she's yours. You can have her," Nancy announced, gazing at him with appreciation. "Ee, you're bonny lad. And tall with it. She could do with a good man like you in her life."

"Thank you, Mum," Karen sarcastically retort as she returned to the kitchen and switched the kettle on with a flourish. "Pack me off, why don't you?" she added, stepping into the lounge.

"You can't do worse than last time," Nancy commented.

By the side of Karen, Roderick did his best not to twitch. Technically, he had been offered consent. Should he act upon that? Except that it was far too early to consider such a step, even in light of their recent frisson of desire in the bathroom.

Before he the chance to even open his mouth, a slim built man with short dark hair and a pencil moustache walked brazenly into the house. "Oh!" the stranger exclaimed. "Is this your boyfriend or Daniel's dad?"

She could see why he saw a resemblance to Daniel's floppy hair. "He's neither, Steve," Karen slowly emphasised. "This is my friend Roderick, from the school. Roderick, this is my ex-husband," she introduced them.

The two men dutifully shook hands, although Roderick was aware Steve was trying to slightly psyche him out. "Pleased to finally meet you," he politely murmured.

A smug grin broke out across Steve's face. "Heard a lot about me, have you?"

"Only in relation to Charlotte," Roderick replied. "You must be proud of your grandson."

"Oh aye," Steve agreed with another conceited grin.

Was this really what attracted Karen in a man? Roderick couldn't believe his eyes. At least she had since come to her senses, but it brought up rather a lot of questions in his mind. "Well, thank you for the erm… sweatshirt, and I'll see you tomorrow," he said directly to her; now feeling a desperate need to get out of this situation.

"But you never even had your tea," Karen complained in embarrassment. If she could have killed Steve, she would have done in that moment. "I'll see you to the door."

In fact she walked with him right up to his car, leaving behind Steve to collect William's things under the supervision of her mother.

"You didn't need to see me this far," Roderick courteously pointed out whilst being extremely glad that she had. It had given them a small moment of privacy together. "You have an important guest to attend to."

"What him?" she dismissed. "He's only here to pick up Will to look after for a couple of hours. There's nothing between me and Steve; hasn't been since I divorced him before the age of twenty-one."

"Twenty-one!" he repeated in shock. "How old were you when you married?"

"Seventeen," she supplied. "It was a shotgun wedding. A huge mistake, but hindsight is an exact science, they say. We all do stupid things when we're young."

Or in his case, his twin brother had done the stupid things and he'd been left behind, trying to be 'the good son'. "We do indeed," he agreed, and laid a gentle hand on her arm momentarily to offer the only crumb of comfort he felt he was allowed. "Thank you again for the sweatshirt."

"I'm so sorry for everything." Her sad expression broke his heart. "You came here being nice to me, the baby threw up on you and we didn't even get the chance to have a cup of tea. What must you think of me?"

 _You're lovely._ "These things happen," he consoled her, smiling sweetly. "Goodbye."

"Bye then," she returned the farewell. "See you tomorrow."

With a reluctant wave, he was soon driving away down the road, and she was left feeling as though something precious had been snatched from her grasp.

"Loverboy gone then?" Steve asked her as he appeared holding various bags and a baby carrier containing William to place in his car. "He didn't stay long."

She scowled at him. "Just make sure you look after Will properly," she told him with a stab of her finger; and then made her way back into the house where duty never rested.

~o0o~

Should he or shouldn't he? That was the pertinent question.

There were signs that he might not be wasting his time if he asked. And pacing up and down on the hotel room carpet wouldn't solve anything at this rate.

His mind made, up, Roderick brought up the contact details on his phone and pressed the dial button. When it was answered, he began to talk with determination. "Hello Mother. It's Roderick. I need to ask for your consent."

"Consent?" she haughtily repeated. "What do you need my consent for, Roderick?"

This was it: time to confess. "I have met a woman I would like to court, so I am requesting your consent to do so."

"Who is this woman who has turned your head?" she drilled him. "I already have two daughter-in-laws; I think that is plenty for me to cope with."

He'd known this would be difficult but he hadn't anticipated how frustrating it would be. Most mothers would want all their sons to be happy, after all. Except, he reminded himself, his mother was different from the other mothers he had met. "I merely want to express a genuine interest that might lead to marriage, Mother. I am not immediately proposing so I do not understand your reticence."

"Don't you?!" Verity Smith exclaimed in disbelief. "You were there when Donald ran off and disgraced us; and you saw John make a fool of himself at my birthday party."

"Both cases have resolved themselves," he pointed out with all the patience he could muster. "My brothers are happy."

"Apparently. No, Roderick, I'm not sure about this," she admitted. "It could go badly wrong."

"Or," he proposed, "it could be the most wonderful thing to ever happen to me. Do you not care about my future happiness? Would you prefer me to be lonely in my dotage?"

"I care," she cautiously answered. "Loneliness is a terrible thing in old age."

"You have four children to comfort you whereas I have none," he stated, knowing it was a cruel and below the belt statement, but desperate times need desperate measures.

He knew he was close to that wanted consent when she ended the call by saying, "I need to talk to Donna about this. She will know how this woman feels. Until then, goodbye."

It didn't seem like many minutes later when the phone rang, and someone smugly greeted him, "Hello Roderick."

Inwardly, he sighed. "Hello Andrew. What can I do for you?"

There was a voice from behind Andy. "He must be angry with me already since he's calling me 'Andrew'," he answered the voice. He came closer to the receiver to say, "John says you're being mean to me. All we wanted to do was congratulate you on finding a woman-friend."

"I take it you have spoken to Mother," Roderick drily commented.

"Of course," Andy confirmed. "Finding a woman to court, as you termed it, is a big deal."

"In your world it would be."

Andy ignored that retort and carried on. "Honestly, we thought you had sworn off all that sort of thing. The eternal asexual bachelor; so we were naturally surprised you are finally considering someone. What's she like?"

"I assume you want details," Roderick surmised, and gained an affirmative. "Her name is Karen. She is in her late thirties, works as a classroom assistant…"

"In the state junior school you visited?! My my, you've come down in the world," Andy burst out.

"Don't interrupt," Roderick cautioned him. "Her academic career was cut short due to unavoidable circumstances at the time, but she has returned to education and is now doing a degree part time. Who knows what she could achieve in the future."

"She's already achieved impressing you, and that's no mean feat. The nearest one to ever do that was that Angel woman, and you only let her be nice because she got you on television."

"Do you want to hear about Karen or not?"

"Carry on. We're all ears."

"Ah, you've got me on speakerphone. I might have known. What else do you two want to know?"

"When are we going to meet her?" Andy asked. "You can't properly court the poor woman if she doesn't get to meet your family. She should at least be forewarned. Unless she isn't aware you are trying to woo her," he pondered.

Did they **have** to tease him? "She is aware," Roderick supplied. "Her mother has even given me her consent."

"Wow! It's serious."

John was heard to agree with his brother. "Please don't rush her into marriage just yet. At least wait until after my wedding or Donna will kill me," he good-naturedly pleaded.

"Talking of your wedding…" Roderick nervously coughed to clear his throat. "You mentioned a plus one on the invitation. Would it be rude of me to request that Karen comes too, as my guest?"

Both Smith brothers tried to suppress happy laughter. They almost succeeded too. "You are very welcome to bring Karen," John jovially approved. "It would be lovely to see her at the wedding."

"But will she be able to see us?" Andy playfully queried. "Any woman that is interested in our Roderick might need her eyes tested."

"Or her faculties might be questionable," John countered.

"That's if she's a real person, of course, and not some android he found in a science lab."

"Enough!" Roderick cried impatiently. "Karen is a loving, warm person, with excellent eyesight and a sound head on her shoulders."

"He's trying to say she's not good looking," Andy commented.

"'Homely' is the correct word for that," John advised him. "No doubt her personality matches his perfectly."

Oh for the love of…! "Why do you have to think the worse? Karen is extremely attractive. She might not seem conventionally stunning to some but I think she is beautiful, inside and out. As you will find out when you meet her!"

"You just got him to say his girlfriend is beautiful."

"I know." The pair of them giggled together on the end of the line.

"Grow up!" Roderick stormed. "What did I do to deserve you two?"

"Won a raffle," John suggested. "Did a good deed in a previous life."

"Collected the right number of vouchers from a cereal box lid," Andy proposed in kind. "Whatever you did, you got your prayers answered."

In that matter, Roderick had to thoroughly agree with him. "I shall see you both at the weekend. Goodbye."

Nevertheless, he was smiling when he ended the call. For some reason he always found them entertaining too.

~o0o~


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

.

The phone rang again half an hour or so later. A number he didn't recognise. "Hello," he cautiously answered.

"Hello. Roderick? It's Donna."

"Hello Donna! I wasn't expecting to hear from you. Is anything the matter?"

"Not with me there isn't. Not quite," she admitted. "I've just had a really weird phone call from your mother. Get this: she asked for my advice. She actually asked for my opinion. Is she dying or something and I haven't been told?"

He chuckled without feeling guilty about it. "No, her health is fine; but I assume she mentioned me."

"She certainly did! She was all at sixes and sevens over you finding yourself a girlfriend. So I told her you are entitled to date whoever you like, without criticism, particularly because you have never given her any reason to doubt your actions," she readily supplied. "And if this woman has more than one decent brain cell in her head, she'd know to grab you for being the treasure you are and hold on tight."

Overcome with gratitude, he blustered, "That is terribly kind of you to say."

"You're like a big, fluffy ice berg," she continued with her compliment, "except only the outer surface seems icy. Underneath it all, you're all warmth. You're probably a hot little furnace. Not that I'm supposed to think about you like that, but you know what I mean."

"I do indeed," he agreed with a laugh. "So what did Mother say? Will I gain her approval?"

"If she doesn't, I shall bloody-well make sure I pester her on your behalf until she does," Donna promised. "But I honestly don't think you're going to have any problems."

"Thank you, Donna."

"You're welcome."

"You are proving to be an asset for our family."

"Geroff! Now, when am I going to meet this woman whose honour I've been defending? And will I actually find out her name or anything?"

"Karen is coming to the wedding but you might get to see her this weekend; so you can ask any questions yourself."

"Why aren't you telling me?" she asked suspiciously.

"I have already had my younger brothers making wild assumptions about her," he admitted, "and I would prefer that you gained a more positive opinion of her."

"So you're pretty serious about her?" Donna pondered.

"I only met Karen today," he supplied. "All I did was request permission from Mother to court a woman I am attracted to. And yes, I am aware how revolutionary that idea is."

"I also know how you Gallifreyans make snap life decisions about people," she replied. "Look at how much I am personally benefiting from that one. Any other bloke would have been long gone, but John has stuck around and is prepared to marry me."

"Donna," he sighed, "I wish you understood that you practically shine with your qualities."

"So I'm some sort of demented Tinkerbelle now, am I?" she disparaged. "Yeah, sure. And I suspect you think I'm not going to approve of your new girlfriend; that's why you've not told me much so far."

"I am doing no such thing," he quickly repudiated.

"Then tell me the basics; what she does, where she lives, how old she is, and how you met," she dared him.

"Very well," he reluctantly conceded. "I met Karen in the primary school I have been visiting. She works there as a classroom assistant. Her age is about mid-thirties, but I have not asked her that pertinent question. She lives with her elderly mother who she is a carer for, and her teenage daughter from a brief marriage. I met the ex-husband; bit of a bounder, I'm afraid. What else was it you wanted to know? Oh yes. We met when she sat next to me, after she had accidentally taken the headmaster's chair. Anything else you need to know?"

"That'll do nicely for now," she answered, impressed with how much information he already knew about his new love interest whilst wondering should she tease him a bit or leave him for the time being. "As long as you like her, that's enough."

Relieved, he ended the call by saying, "Thank you. I do like her, very much. Until the weekend, I shall say goodbye."

"Bye Roderick," she replied. "And remember; the whole idea is to enjoy yourself. Don't let all that duty rigmarole stuff weigh you down too much."

With another word, she was gone, and he was left to contemplate further developments. Enjoy it, huh? He certainly hoped he would be able to do just that.

~o0o~

When Karen didn't see Roderick straight away in school the following morning, she told herself it was for the best. Her family had showed her up, and he had fled at the first opportunity. They just weren't meant to be.

Alright, he had acknowledged her existence during school assembly by giving her a tiny smile across the hall, but he hadn't made a beeline for her in the staffroom later. Now feeling defeated, she could admit to herself that she would have been interested in getting to know him further, that there was a certain something about him that attracted her.

Even her mother had noticed it, and claimed it was because Roderick had a touch of the spiv about him, like Steve had done too. To be honest, Karen suspected she was merely being desperate. It had been a long time since she had gained the genuine attention of a man. She'd been fooled before, she to admit. Hadn't the 'date' with Leo been a disaster? A disaster big enough to lead her to sleeping with Steve again in a moment of madness. At least she had turned down his offer to have a 'no strings attached' relationship with him. And him with a girlfriend too! All she'd done was satisfy a physical need and her curiosity. "Never doing that again," she mumbled to herself.

But she wanted to get the chance to speak to Roderick. He was owed an apology if nothing else. She got her lucky break after school had finished and she'd left the classroom for the day.

There were distant strains of keys being hit on the piano in the school hall; echoing down the corridor. Within seconds, the somewhat random notes were eased into a continuous melody; one of such sweet sorrow as the tune continued. Now intrigued, Karen ignored her instinct to get home as soon as possible, and walked towards the music as though it was a Siren and she was a sailor lost at sea.

She quietly opened the hall door and was shocked to see Roderick at the upright piano, caressing the keyboard as though it were a familiar lover. As she took one step inwards onto the parquet flooring, he stopped playing and looked directly at her.

"Hello," she self-consciously uttered. "I heard music so I thought I'd come investigate."

"Hello Ms Cooper. I hope you don't mind but I tuned the piano. It was sadly… _lacking_ in finesse," he apologetically said.

"I'll say it was lacking," she readily agreed, moving nearer. "It was being threatened with permanent expulsion with the way it sounded. Leo had given up trying to find a cheap piano tuner and had begun looking for someone to take it off our hands."

"Ah," he murmured, "then I have saved you the trouble and it its life. And just in time too."

"Is that your super power?" she wondered, and was amused by his confused expression. No doubt he never bothered with super heroes, in any shape or form. "Finding old instruments and bringing them back to life," she clarified.

He sagely nodded. "It would appear I have found my true purpose in life."

Was that a joke? She couldn't really tell with him. "What was it you were playing?"

His hand waved dismissively at the piano. "Nothing really. A little composition I have been working on."

"It was lovely," she gushed. "I hope you finish it."

A broad grin of proud delight lit up his face. "Thank you. It is for my brother John's upcoming wedding, so I want it to be special."

"I can't imagine him not being pleased with it," she truthfully commented. "Are you very close to him?"

"Well," he slightly blustered, "the ceremony will end with this piece, once it is finished, so it has to be perfect. John is much closer to Andy, but I see him on a regular basis."

That had a ring of jealousy, to her ears, so she moved nearer still to offer comfort with her presence. "Why are they closer?"

"They are twins," he explained, "and work together in their own company."

"Twins are special like that, I hear."

"Evidently," he noted, closing the piano lid with care. "But it hasn't always been so between myself and my twin."

"You're a twin too?" Okay, perhaps she shouldn't have asked like that, but it just seemed to burst out of her.

"You might know him: Donald Peterson. His school isn't too far from here."

This was strange, standing right by his side with him gazing up at her, with a soft look on his face she couldn't quite fathom. What she did notice was the underlying sense of loneliness within him. "The name sounds familiar," she started to say. "Oh, I know! They won a choir competition a few years ago."

"Yes, they did," he evenly pronounced.

"And you're not pleased for him," she commented.

"It was a trifle awkward," he admitted. "Our late Father was furious with me."

"Why?"

"Because I am supposed to succeed at everything," he confessed, glancing away. What was he doing, saying this to her? He must be mad to reveal so much! This would attract sympathy and that was the last thing he wanted, from her or anybody else. "Anyway, I am having trouble getting the phrasing right for the end of my composition so that Donna feels like she is drifting along on a cloud."

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Do you have a secret crush on this Donna bride of your brother?"

"No," he hastily denied, shocked she should even suggest such a thing.

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure," he stiffly replied. He then realised that she was still standing beside him. "Oh dear! I do apologise. Please sit down," he hurriedly offered as he stood up. "What must you think of me for being so rude?"

 _I'm trying to decide that, myself,_ she considered as he guided her down. "There's plenty of room on this stool for both of us." She invited him to sit by patting the space left on the seat.

"If you are sure," he partially declined as he sat down on half of the cushion. "Perhaps you would indulge me by listening to a few chords. I would value your opinion."

Really?! "Of course. I'd love to hear some more."

So he lifted the lid again, and began to play.

Watching him up-close, concentrating on playing the notes of his beautiful melody, Karen couldn't help wondering why no one had snapped him up as a husband. You have to admit, having someone play just for you was very romantic, in a way. When he accidentally bumped his arm into her bosom and apologised for the action, he went bright red, and she wanted to grab him into a hug. But he wasn't the sort of bloke you readily did that to. She doubted he could handle an idle emotion like that.

Continuing to play, he risked asking, "Are you doing anything of interest this evening?"

"Depends what you find interesting," she reasoned. "I'm taking Mum to visit the nursing home offering respite care while I revise for my end of course exam."

His playing halted suddenly. "So you will be alone?"

"With my books and papers, yes," she answered. "And I've warned Charley that I won't be able to do much babysitting until after the exam is over next week."

"You will miss seeing William."

"Not necessarily. Knowing Charley, she'll bring him over anyway."

Here was his big chance; and he couldn't believe he was being offered a second go at it. "If you are going to be on your own, would you do me the honour of joining me for a meal?"

She gasped. "Just to make sure; are you asking me out on a date?"

Now worried that she would reject him within the next minute, he cautiously replied, "It would seem so."

"Then it would seem that I am saying 'yes'," she teased him with.

"This is marvellous!" he enthused. "May we seal the deal, as it were?"

Frowning, she wondered, "How?"

"With a kiss," he whispered, easing forwards.

Daft apeth! As if she wouldn't want to kiss him.

"While I'm asking questions, would you accompany me to my brother's wedding?"

"When is it?"

"The weekend after next."

"What! But that gives me no time at all. I'd have to get a posh frock and everything," she grumbled.

"Karen," he murmured, loving the way her name rolled off his tongue, "you would look wonderful in anything you chose."

"So you're saying I'd get away with wearing just my nightdress? I think not," she scoffed.

He actually giggled, to her surprise.

"Please don't give me that sort of mental image to play with. Might not be able to contain myself," he confessed.

"Then we'd better hurry up and actually have this date."

~o0o~


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** thank you anyone who is still reading this. I appreciate your presence a great deal. Here's a slightly longer chapter to reward you with.

* * *

 **Part 6**

.

It had been totally logical to offer Karen a lift home, but Roderick still fretted whether he was doing the right thing or not. "Wait just a moment," he requested, halting her exit from his car with a hand laid on her forearm. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Of course," she readily replied. "Aren't you?"

"I definitely want us to date," he confirmed, "but will your family accept it happening?"

Oh the poor man! Did he really expect to be rejected wherever he went? She leaned toward him to ask, "What can I do to convince you everything will be fine? Honestly, they won't mind."

"You could," he began to reason, "actually kiss me, as promised."

"Why ever would I do that?" she teased, right before her lips eased lightly onto his.

Instantly, his hands rose to cradle her head; tilting her chin to allow him access to explore her mouth. It was everything he had hoped it would be as a first kiss.

After some moments, she tried to draw back in order to gasp in a breath, but he wasn't letting her go just yet. This had to be savoured for as long as possible before the world could crowd in and spoil it.

~o0o~

When they finally entered the house some minutes later, Charley, William and Daniel greeted them.

Roderick was pleasantly surprised by how Daniel regarded Charlotte, and could now see why Steve had thought he was possibly Daniel's father. A long floppy fringe, an adorable intelligent yet nerdy awkwardness, and a tendency to push his glasses further up the bridge of his nose were all qualities that he shared and found endearing in the lad. Charlotte herself was a delight too. They were all a credit to Karen.

But Roderick's liking for them went up several notches when Karen had confessed they were trying to arrange a date and Charlotte insisted that they go out for a meal or somewhere away from the house for several hours while she and Daniel looked after Nancy.

Inevitably, Karen dismissed Charley's good intentions; so the girl pulled her mother aside in the kitchen, to have a private word.

"You know I'm perfectly capable of seeing to Nan," Charley had declared. She then hissed at her mother, "You've left me with her plenty of times when you've had a date."

Embarrassed, Karen had muttered back, "Anyone would think I've been on **loads** of dates. And usually Ivy was here if I was out for the day."

"I'm not on my own," Charley pointed out. "Daniel is here to do any lifting, or keep Will occupied while I change Nan."

"Alright," Karen reluctantly agreed. "We'll go on a date. If I'm late back, you and Daniel can have my bed and I'll sneak into your old one later on."

"Mum!" Charley shrieked. "You're encouraging me and Daniel to sleep together."

"Yeah, as if you're not doing that already," Karen retorted. "You must think I was born yesterday."

"Stop moaning and go and get ready then," Charley chided her. "I'll do Nan's tea when she wakes up."

"If you're sure..," Karen had fretted.

But fortunately Daniel quickly agreed it was okay, so she rushed off upstairs to freshen up while Roderick chatted to Daniel about their studies and gave in to the irresistible compulsion to hold William who had held out his arms to be picked up.

"Is that wise after last time?" Charlotte had worried.

"It's fine," Roderick answered, pleased to get the willing attention of the boy. He tried telling himself that the combination of golden curls and vivid blue eyes was having no affect upon his senses, but he knew it was a losing battle. "Perhaps we can babysit Will for you and return the favour."

Charley and Daniel had grinned in delight. "You're on," she decided.

When Karen came down the stairs, wearing fresh makeup and looking gorgeous, Roderick quickly relinquished his possessive hold on William and got up to greet her with a kiss on the cheek. "You look lovely," he gushed.

It was obviously a compliment she wasn't used to getting.

With a wary glance toward Charley to see if she approved, Karen said their farewells.

"Where are we going?" she asked once they were in the car.

"I thought we could eat at my hotel," Roderick huskily proclaimed. "It should be nice and convenient."

 _Convenient for what?_ She hoped he had exactly the same idea as she had, because she was suddenly hungry for more than just food. Then again, she'd always been a pushover for smouldering eyes and a slender physique. Plus, it'd been quite a while since she'd had sex. "I can hardly wait," she purred into his ear, gaining that little jolt of interest that made her go weak at the knees.

~o0o~

His hotel was an ex-country mansion. All rolling fields and fancy architecture. It was perfect for a romantic tryst. Hopefully these people would think she was his girlfriend rather than his bit on the side. As it was, she prepared herself to be looked at with condemnation by the hotel staff, but fortunately they did no such thing.

They were shown to a table for two immediately they'd stepped into the hotel restaurant; being given a table by the window with a beautiful view of the grounds. But the only beautiful thing Roderick wanted to see was Karen naked in his bed. He blushed as the fantasy rolled over him, and he hastily adjusted his napkin on his lap. "What do you think of the hotel?" he asked to cover his bluster.

"Very nice. It must be costing you a fortune," she commented. "Or Lancashire County Council," she considered. "All that money that you earn, and you've asked out me. I still can't believe it."

"I'm not poor," he admitted, and placed a hand over hers where it rested on the crisp white tablecloth, "and of course I asked you out. How could I not? You are very fine company. Are you hungry?"

"Not particular," she confessed.

"Nor am I. I suggest we have just the main course and then take our wine back to my room to relax for a while. How does that sound?"

 _Fabulous._ But she couldn't say that out loud, not in some fancy restaurant while he was caressing her hand. It made her feel as though she was in some classic Hollywood film. "I can't afford these prices if we had a full three course meal," she whispered instead, giving him the excuse to get closer in order to hear.

"Don't worry about paying," he insisted. "This is my treat. You can have anything that you want." He then leaned intimately close to say, "Especially if it's me."

How she resisted snogging the living daylights out of him then and there she would never know. "Then let's hurry up and eat because I can't wait to try other things that are on the menu."

Unable to avoid overhearing them, the waitress tried not to act surprised when they ordered a mains that would take hardly any time to prepare or eat, along with a bottle of wine. Someone's luck was in, she thought as she walked away.

~o0o~

They each had a full glass of wine in hand when they made their way to Roderick's hotel room, their footsteps quick and determined. He hoped to gain many kisses before the evening was out, little knowing that Karen was planning on more.

He let her place her wine glass down on the coffee table before he sidled in to wrap his arms around her waist. There had been no denying that she wanted this with him. Their unspoken dance of desire was all too evident, judging by the knowing smirk the receptionist had given them when they'd walked through the lobby. But he didn't care if the whole world knew. He had the woman he wanted in his arms, and nothing would stop him enjoying that fact.

She immediately wrapped her arms around his slender shoulders, easily standing nose to nose with him. "Alone at last," she joked. "What shall I do with you?"

"Help yourself," he murmured before kissing her.

It was a sweet kiss. One that she willingly returned. Then added another, and another.

"Let's take these off," she suggested, removing his glasses and placing them reverently on a nearby surface. "You have lovely eyes. Shame they are covered up so much."

"I've been saving it for you," he schmoozed, making her giggle.

They returned to kissing, deepening their kisses from sweet to erotic. With them care the need to seek out flesh; first with gentle sweeps of the hand, then further to caress, mouth and worship in turn. Nothing but the sound of wet kisses, groans of desire and items being undone filled the air.

"I want you," he groaned.

"Yes, I want you too," she returned with the same breathiness. "On the bed." With that, she pushed him backwards so that he fell on the bed, taking her with him.

He seeking out flesh to kiss on her neck, her cleavage, and anywhere he could reach. "Oh the things I want to do to you, but we need to stop before we go too far."

"Bugger going too far," she retorted. "I don't care about stopping. I'm ready, you're more than ready," she noted, rubbing a hand over the front of his trousers, "so there's nothing that should stop this."

"What about propriety?" he wondered, not relenting in his quest to caress every inch of her. He certainly understood in that moment how his brother had been swept away by passion. "Are we considering things properly?"

Straddling him, she sat up and glared down at him panting gently beneath her body. "Look," she argued, "I'm not here seeking a husband. Been there, done that, got the single mother t-shirt to prove it. We'll try this out together. If it works then we'll have a successful life and fantastic sex for the rest of our lives. If it doesn't, then we'll hopefully have some nice memories of doing it in a country hotel. Does that sound alright to you?"

"Well..." He pondered the pros and cons of this.

So far he had all the permissions he wanted to take this further if they so wanted. In fact, he could start proceedings then and there. The only stumbling block was Karen herself. As she'd already explained: once bitten, twice shy. If he could convince her to consider him as a more permanent fixture in her life via trial sex, then he was willing to make that sacrifice. Of course, he'd been told (by John) that sex whilst bonded was a fantastic thing to undertake, it would remain his ultimate goal. At least he was still in a slightly better position than Donald had been in, and look how well that liaison turned out, eventually.

"If you're sure," he stammered, "I think we ought to get into bed."

Karen turned to grab her glass of wine. "First a sip, and then we'll start."

Seconds later she wriggled above him, undressing completely. His last remaining garments were thrown off and he was left to do the last deed. He'd practiced before, obviously he had. Every schoolboy did. But to have a real live naked woman begging you to commit the ultimate intimacy... This was new ground. An experience he had only ever gone solo with.

He let out an amorous groan as he felt her lips briefly upon his then she kissed him passionately. To be honest, he would have been happy with that, but her physical need for more egged him on.

Shifting their position so that he now laid on top of her body, he gave in to his demanding instincts to seek out more.

With a satisfying moan, all the deities he could think of were blessed in that second, right before he worshipped her body with every intimate touch he could think of. Her sensual flesh was warm, sweet and succulent beneath his mouth; her freckles were explored with the care only a lover could lavish on a woman. Every guttural sound imaginable exploded from his body as his desire reached its inevitable peak.

Now spent, he flung himself to the side and they grinned at each other in satisfaction. It was on the tip of his tongue to say "I love you" to her but she halted that reaction.

"Don't say you love me or anything," she warned him. "Just don't."

"Oh," he gasped. "Okay."

She was right; it was too early to speak of love. These things didn't happen within two days. But his heart had already made its decision. She was the one he wanted in his life. There hadn't been, and would never be another. For now, he had to keep quiet or risk scaring her away. There was plenty of time to talk her round. Sex with her was fantastic, but once they were bonded it would be spectacular. He was already hard again just with the thought of it.

~o0o~

 **A/N2:** I had to heavily edit this to try and keep it within the T rating. But the full version can be found on AO3


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** sorry about the updating delay; writing time has diminished to when I can while away time on a hospital ward. I _was_ going to do loads about the wedding, blah blah blah…. But that all seems a bit pointless now. Instead, I'll just try and wrap this one up and start on something else entirely.

* * *

 **Part 7**

.

A suddenly footstep made Roderick look up from his carefully written notes. The day had been very trying and he was desperate to get away from the dusty school hall and drink a cup of tea in comfort. The hall doors swung shut to show an unexpected group of visitors dressed formally in business suits.

"Roderick!" filled the air as two men beamed at him.

"Good afternoon, Andy and John. What brings you here?" Roderick wondered; both pleased and appalled to see his younger brothers. "I thought we were meeting at the hotel."

"Oh, you know, we were just passing and…"

"Don't believe them, Roderick," Donna suddenly appeared from behind them to state. "They've brought forward a location meeting so that we could get here early."

"Ah. I see," Roderick calmly noted.

"Well, that's partially true," John admitted.

"How much of it is true?" Roderick challenged them.

"Erm… all of it," Andy cagily confirmed. "But we have legit reasons for being here."

"Evidently so," Roderick allowed. "Did you wish to acquaint yourselves with the school?" He couldn't help noticing that their eyes were everywhere, taking in all the details of the place.

As Donna answered "Yes," both brothers exclaimed, "No!"

At Roderick's questioning gaze, Andy added, "Seen one school, seen them all. Especially if they are the plebs you feared they would be in a council run school. Not that I believe they are or anything. Probably lovely children who endlessly inspire you and wonderful members of staff."

"So this really is all about spying on him and his love life," Donna commented. "You two are the absolute limit."

"Aw, don't be like that," John crooned as he moved close and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her deliberately to his body. "This is big family news. And we need to see what she's like before she turns up to our wedding next week. She might go all postal or Game of Thrones on us."

"You wish!" she huffed. "Anything to get out of marrying me."

"Not true," he murmured into her ear.

"Touching as all this is, can we get back to the task in question?" Andy grumbled. "We wanted to come and see Roderick's girlfriend and suss her out."

"Very well," Roderick declared, striding away from them. "Come and see for yourself that Karen is a normal person without psychopathic tendencies to murder me before running off with my money."

"Aw, I was hoping she did," Andy teased in an aside to John. "It would explain what she saw in him."

Fury roared through Roderick. Keeping outwardly calm was important, he reminded himself. Don't let them see.

"Leave him alone," he heard Donna defend him. "Don't stomp on his dreams."

"He knows we don't mean it," Andy argued. "This is what brothers do."

Obviously she didn't believe him, because she ran to catch Roderick up, and grasped his arm. "I want to meet her because she must be special to catch your attention."

He slowed to look her in the eye, gauging her true interest and seeing compassion. "She's very special," he quietly agreed. "Her classroom is just up here."

He strode purposefully towards one particular door and then, having given his brothers a cautionary look, knocked on the wooden part before immediately entering.

"Is something the matter?" Karen asked as soon as she saw his pensive expression. Then she caught sight of two familiar looking men. "Oh! What's going on?"

The two men grinned at her with mirrored smiles. "Well, well, well," Andy commented. "We meet at last."

"Karen, please forgive their idiotic ways," Roderick sighed. "These are my brothers Andy and John," he stated, pointing to them each in term. "And this is John's fiancée, Donna."

"Nice to meet… WHOA!" Karen exclaimed in shock upon seeing her own doppelgänger; albeit a better dressed and efficient looking double of herself. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Roderick. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"I'm not laughing," John admitted as he shook her hand. "But it does rather explain Roderick's interest in you."

"This is all a bit… weird," Karen faintly observed, but didn't flinch away when Roderick took hold of her arm to offer comfort and support. "Why didn't you say?"

"It's normally a little tricky mentioning the similarities between my brothers and myself, but I didn't know where to start where Donna is concerned," Roderick confessed.

"That'd better not be a backhanded insult, Sunshine," Donna threatened.

Fortunately, it merely made him smile at her. "Definitely not. Perish the thought."

"So… we're all okay now?" Andy sought to confirm. "Or do I have to point out, again, that I'm the good looking brother?"

Karen laughed at that. "The beard is nice, but I prefer clean-shaven men."

"Rats!" Andy playfully griped. "I'm not likely to copy Roderick's hairstyle either, before you ask."

"I wasn't," she giggled. "Although he could tone it down to something a little less austere," she noted, mentally comparing the men's hairstyles and remember how cute Roderick had looked after they had finished making love, with his hair all ruffled. She had said so at the time, and obviously he recalled her doing so, because he had delightfully blushed. "Just for me," she added on a whisper whilst touching his forearm.

Roderick gently took her hand within his. "It can be arranged," he murmured in reply.

John and Andy couldn't believe their eyes. Was this really their big brother standing before them, acting all lovey-dovey, as though he was a lovesick teenager?! They exchanged a glance that spoke volumes.

Time to take charge, Donna decided, so she deliberately asked, "Any chance of you arranging a cup of tea? I dunno about anyone else, but I'm gasping."

"I should be able to get everyone a tea in the staffroom," Karen offered, "before I have to go home."

Luckily, the staffroom was empty apart from them when they arrived, so they could talk in relative privacy.

Donna helped Karen with the tea things while Andy and John continued to lightly tease Roderick about being in a normal school for a change.

"Are they always like this?" Karen quietly asked.

Donna nodded. "Especially Andy. He just loves to provoke a reaction out of him. I'm sure it's only because they crave his attention and approval."

"So, Karen, tell us," Andy began his questioning as their mugs of tea were set down before them, leaning forward to gain a confidential air. "What do you do when you're not making tea for your boyfriend's family?"

That caused a smile or two.

"Well, I work here part time as a classroom assistant, obviously," she replied.

"Really? You're not one of the pupils?" Andy joked.

To the side of her, Roderick sighed. "Of all the things you could accuse me of, I'm not a cradle snatcher."

Andy's eyebrows bobbed in amusement. "Who would have thought that you knew such an expression? Which leads to a question a gentleman should never ask a lady."

"My age?" Karen queried. "With a daughter aged almost nineteen, I can't deny no longer being a spring chicken." Seeing Andy still gazing at her expectantly, she continued, "but I'm thirty six, if you must know. So how old are you?"

"Me?" Andy wondered in surprise. It wasn't often that he was asked. "I'm also thirty six, as is John. But you already guessed that. He's older, obviously. Has Roderick told you he is coming up to the big 4-0?"

"No," she laughed as Roderick scowled.

"Do not plan some horrible surprise party for us," Roderick warned in icy tones.

"As if we'd do that," John added in, sharing a conspiratorial wink with Karen.

"Us? Who's 'us'?" Karen then asked.

"My brother Donald."

"Oh yes! Silly me," Karen chided herself.

"To be fair, there are a few of them to remember," Donna commented, "and they all look the same."

"Does this mean you could mistake them for me?" John hastily worried.

"Of course not," she assured him; first with a touch on the arm, and then by taking his hand. "Especially not now."

"A bit awkward if you can't recognise your fiancé," Karen noted. "Might make the wedding tricky too."

"If Donna accidentally tries to marry me, John, I promise I'll do my best man duty and hand her over to you. Eventually," Andy playfully vowed; gaining the expected swat on the arm from Donna.

"Will you be wearing exactly the same outfit as the groom?" Karen conversationally asked.

"We'll be in matching kilts, won't we, Darling?" Andy teased his brother.

"We certainly will, Sweetie," John replied in kind. "But we came here to find out about Karen. I fear she is trying to avoid our questions."

"So she is," Andy agreed. "We haven't heard anything about her daughter or any shady past."

Roderick merely finished his tea, determined to not be drawn into their musings.

"The shadiest thing I've ever done is be divorced by my twenty-first birthday," Karen supplied. "My ex-husband was mainly out of the picture while I brought up our Charlotte but Mum was a star. She lives with us; has done since she had cancer."

"Karen and Charley are Nancy's main carers," Roderick pointed out, "but you haven't mentioned someone else."

"Oh!" Karen exclaimed. "I haven't told you about my grandson William. We call him 'Will'. I've got some photos in my bag, if you want to see them."

"Yes please," Donna voiced for them all.

As they flicked through the images, with Karen providing information about who was who and where the photos had been taken, Donna couldn't help the little stab of envy she felt. In many ways Karen had everything she had wanted in life, although Donna would have foregone the divorce malarkey given the choice; or the teenage pregnancy, come to that.

But she felt a bitter twist in the stomach when Karen innocently asked, "Do you have any children?"

"Not yet," she forced herself to cheerfully answer. "I'll get John's daughter Jenny once we are married. She's a lovely girl. Have you still got a picture of her in your wallet to show Karen?" she replied, aiming the question at John.

After some fumbling, he dutifully pulled out his wallet and easily found a photo to show off Jenny.

"What a pretty girl. You must be so proud," Karen suitably enthused. "Is she alright about the wedding?"

"Judging by how keen she was to be a bridesmaid, I think she is," John responded. "We had a few problems when Jenny found out my relationship with Donna had changed from friendship to romance, but she's been fine since."

"How does Charlotte feel about Roderick?" Andy suddenly asked.

Caught off guard, Karen answered, "He offered to babysit Will so that instantly gained him favour."

"I did offer to babysit Will," Roderick corrected, "because it only seemed fair to do so when Charley kindly looked after your mother so that we could go on a date."

"Yes, well," Karen blustered, blushing in remembrance. That date had ended with them in bed, cementing their fledgling relationship. "She won't need to for the next week."

"Why is that?" Donna wondered.

"I will have to return to St Cuthbert's College on Tuesday," Roderick stated at the same time, shattering Karen's hopes. "There is much to organise at the school before the weekend, and I fear my choir will be a little rusty."

"I have been given the week off to revise for my exam on Thursday," Karen faintly answered Donna's question. "County are paying for me to do a degree with the Open University."

"How wonderful," John enthused encouragingly. "What's happening to your mother while you revise?"

"She'll be in respite care. There's a decent nursing home not too far from here." She then glanced at the clock on the wall. "Look at the time! I'd better get home and get her her tea."

"I'll take Karen home and meet you all at the hotel later," Roderick suggested. "Is that okay?"

"Fine, perfectly fine," John eagerly agreed. "It was lovely to meet you Karen."

"I am so pleased that we did," Andy approved, grinning from ear to ear.

"Me too," Donna added. "And we'll hopefully see you at the wedding next week."

~o0o~


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** oops, sorry! My muse insisted on adding in the wedding; hence the wait for an update.

* * *

 **Part 8**

.

"Why didn't you say she looked just like me?!" Donna immediately attacked John when they got back in their car and headed for the hotel. "Or was this idea a bad joke rigged up by the pair of you?"

"Certainly wasn't," Andy defended himself, lest he be physically attacked. "I had no idea what Karen looked like."

"Nor did I," John quickly added. "Roderick gave us the bare minimum amount of information on the phone."

"Alright then," Donna calmly responded. "As long as that's the case. A bit weird though."

"Seeing someone who looks exactly like you, you mean?" Andy queried. "That's an everyday occurrence for us."

"I suppose it is," she allowed. "But still…"

"Roderick seemed awfully keen on her," John noted. "I can't say I've ever seen him like that before."

"Completely besotted," Andy agreed. "I don't know, it's almost like he is… _normal_."

"Don't be mean," Donna warned as John laughed in understanding.

"I for one won't miss this opportunity to rib him," Andy continued. "It's been too long since he has shown the slightest interest in anyone. And you should take it as a compliment, Donna, that he has chosen someone that is your double."

"I'm trying to," she answered. "But it's just so…."

"…Weird!" both brothers chimed together, and giggled at their synchronised minds.

~o0o~

"How did taking your mother to the home go?" Roderick asked as soon as Karen opened her front door to him.

"I feel right guilty," she replied, letting him in. "Don't get me wrong, she'll be well looked after, but I'll worry about her."

He gave her a comforting hug. "How about I get you something to eat, and you sit down at the table to continue with your revising?"

She quirked a questioning eyebrow at him. "Can you actually cook?"

"No idea," he reluctantly admitted. "Eating in a restaurant is more my thing, but with you here to supervise me, I'm sure I can rustle up something edible."

"Gawd bless my stomach," she muttered. "Look lively, and get on with it. You can start by making us tea."

A couple of hours later, Karen was able to take a break from Roderick fussing around her and from her study notes. It _was_ Saturday night, after all, and it would be criminal to waste some free time.

"This is nice," he commented, giving her hand a squeeze in demonstration. "We can sit here in peace, holding hands, and even exchange a kiss if we so wish without your mother interrupting us."

"She don't mean to," Karen defended Nancy, "it just happens."

"I know," Roderick consoled her, adding in a brief kiss to her lips. "Your mother is very sweet and I like your family; but I like being able to explore doing more with you."

"More? What sort of thing are you planning?" she teased, knowing full well what he possibly wanted.

"Whatever you consent to," he breathily replied next to her mouth.

"In that case," she announced, standing up and taking his hand whilst silently laughing at his surprised expression, "Why don't we take this somewhere a little more comfortable. Unless, of course, you fancy being caught on my settee?"

"No, somewhere else is fine," he readily agreed, allowing himself to be hauled up off the seat. "Comfortable is even better."

Seconds later he happily followed her up the stairs and into her bedroom.

~o0o~

He hadn't meant to stay the whole night with her; it just sort of happened. The temptation had been too strong; especially after he had persuaded her to return to the comforts of the hotel with him, citing limited access and distractions as his main argument. It had taken her no time at all to pack a bag and her revision notes, to sneak away into the night. And he was beyond pleased to wake up next to her the following morning. To then do so for two nights was a dream come true.

They had spent the whole of Sunday lounging about in little more than their underwear most of the time, giving in to any whim to make love when passion arose. Other times, he kept her company, quizzing her through key points of her studies, helping her remember sample essay points for her exam on Thursday, prodding her along the way. When his own muse awakened, he silently composed music while she revised; providing each other with much needed personal space.

All in all, it had been an ideal situation to test out their fledgling relationship where they both enjoyed their pseudo marital status. He was sure Karen was impressed, so he had set about showing her all the wonderful things he could provide, if she so wanted.

As he gazed at her, revelling in the sensation of their entwined bodies, Roderick could not help running their previous conversation from the night before through his head. He had idly brought up (or so he thought) the possibility that they could end up married and then move away from the Bolton area to live together; but Karen had told him she could not consider getting more serious when she had her mother and daughter to take into consideration. Going away permanently with him would only be a pipe dream for now.

It was no effort for him to accept the logic of her argument, but unbeknown to her, Roderick had already marked her as his, hiding the action as being part of the explorations of making love. Of course, he would explain what licking her neck in that manner meant in his culture, when the time was right and she was more willing to accept his long term attentions. Until then, he was determined to create an impression where he was seen to cater for her heeds and provide the necessary care missing in her life. The perfect place to lay his cards on the table, as it were, would be the upcoming wedding. He needn't propose yet but he could certainly mention his intentions.

"When is it you have to return home?" she had lazily asked him when she opened her eyes. "Do you have to go yet?"

"I have to leave by Tuesday morning," he informed her. "I've already told you this. I cannot leave my choir in the hands of my subordinate for any longer; and I need to rehearse properly for the wedding."

"Does that make you a bad choirmaster for leaving them for so long?" she teased.

"Very bad," he agreed, leaning forward on the bed to capture her lips. "They may never recover, and my reputation will be destroyed forever."

"It's a good job I like bad boys. How about you come here and let me destroy that reputation a little bit more," she proposed, and pulled him on top of her body to ravage his mouth; and the rest of him.

~o0o~

It was the day of the wedding and everyone had turned up to attend the ceremony in the privacy of the chapel that belonged to St Cuthbert's College. Much rested upon its success.

With a great deal of nervous energy, Roderick stepped into his rooms to check on the progress of the groom and best man to ready themselves for the service. He had already had several words of warning with his choir, who had been persuaded to return to the school to take part in proceedings. This had to be perfect. His brothers may have been in charge of preparing the physical aspect of the wedding, but the music and the smoothness of the varying events would be held as being down to him as the person on the ground, as it were. Their mother in particular would view him as being responsible for any mishaps.

"The buttonholes have arrived," he announced to chivvy his brothers along.

Both of them looked up from adjusting the blue clan cufflinks in the cuffs of their ornate sleeves. "There he is: Grandfather Roderick!" came the gleeful response.

"Shut up, Andy," Roderick snarled.

"Why?" Andy nonchalantly queried. "I think the name has a nice **ring** to it."

"Leave him alone, Andy," John sighed. "I'd rather not spend my wedding day having to find an alternative best man, or visiting the local police station to give a statement about why Roderick murdered you."

"You're all heart," Andy retorted, blowing him a kiss. "I think you're secretly saying you'll miss me."

"Evidently more than Grandfather Roderick here will." John then impishly smiled at his older brother. "Oops! Sorry. You wanted to be called something else."

No he didn't, but Roderick wasn't going to admit that fact. Instead, he growled his annoyance, adjusted the fall of his sleeves and stormed out of the room. "I'll see you both later; hopefully when you have grown up!"

The sound of their laughter inevitably followed him down the ancient stone corridor and out to the main doors.

Why did they have to rile him so? Did they not understand how delicate a matter this was for him? Things between him and Karen could falter at any moment, bringing his life crumbling down around his ears.

~o0o~

It was with much trepidation that Karen stepped out of the car and viewed the nearest buildings with of St Cuthbert's College; the place that Roderick currently lived and worked. Such a different place from Bank Top Primary School. Worlds apart, in fact.

Apparently the school chapel had been chosen because they could gain full access for a week in order to decorate it; Roderick could supervise most of it, and his choir wouldn't have far to travel. It also had fond memories from when they'd been schoolboys. All Karen could see was austerity, rich people, and loads of history as she gazed at the buildings.

Has this been a stupid idea? It was one thing to be his girlfriend for almost two weeks; it was something else to turn up to such a family event. Okay, she had met the bride and groom already, as well as the best man, but his mother would be there and she sounded like a right dragon. That's how Donna had described her.

Karen had been told to aim straight for the school chapel, so she trundled her wheeled overnight bag behind her and headed in that direction. The swell of music hit her as she reached the doors but she hadn't been prepared for the sight within.

Everything had been sprinkled with a creamy white to form a winter wonderland. It was like a film set; which was understandable, given the profession of the groom. But she wasn't looking for him. Instead, her target was Roderick.

"There you are, looking as lovely as ever," he greeted suddenly from her side, planting a brief but very pleased kiss on her cheek. "Oh no, you are not sitting back here. You're to come up near the front."

"But…," she tried to protest, but he had already grabbed hold of her case and was leading the way forward.

He placed her on the outer end of the second pew, near a stone pillar, leaning the wheeled suitcase against the wooden seat. "Here you go. Mother, David and Sarah will be seated next to you, and Donald will join us in front," he stated, doing his best game show hostess movements to indicate the seating arrangements. "I'll take your case up to my rooms later. I would have stayed with you to wait but I have to finish preparations."

"No, that's fine. I understand," she assured him, looking to where the choir members stood along the sides of the nave before the altar.

The choir had foregone their customary uniform of blood red surpluses with gold braid trimmings and had gone for a deep blue colour instead. Evidently that shade of blue along with the winter white was this wedding's theme.

Several young faces were turned towards that end of the pews where Karen now sat, regarding the exchange between their choirmaster and a female of the species with open interest. To say it was unusual to see him act pleasantly towards anyone would be an understatement; and here he was acting overly pleased to see a woman. Rumours were already forming about who she could be.

Letting Roderick return to his previous position in front of the choir, Karen was able to sit back and enjoy the view; particularly him in his pristine wedding outfit. The dark morning suit with matching blue cravat was really flattering on his slim physique. She internally squealed with delight at how handsome he looked in his suit.

Lucky lucky her! She'd get to peel that off him later. Hopefully.

At that point she caught the eye of a particularly curious choirboy, and quickly averted her gaze. Best not to think of such things when there were children nearby; and in a church, of all places. It didn't do to have illicit thoughts that might show up on your face.

And, she reminded herself, she hadn't met his mother yet. The formidable Verity Smith.

There was a sudden surge of people entering the chapel, filling up the place in no time at all. A blonde woman entered that Karen guessed was Donna's mother, judging by where she sat, as well as the obvious care taken choosing her outfit. And then Karen was distracted by the appearance of a man who could only be Donald Peterson since his resemblance to Roderick, bar the hairstyle, was uncanny.

Holding desperately onto his arm for support was a thin, haughty woman who had to be the feared Verity, closely followed by a younger, blonde woman and a teenage boy. Karen assumed the boy was David, Roderick's nephew. She couldn't help mentally comparing notes between herself and Donald's wife Sarah, to see what qualities had attracted him. Their appearance was completely different. If she hadn't have met Donna beforehand she would have thought she was the odd one out.

Verity shot Karen a puzzled look as Donald placed her on the end of the pew so that she could easily see the wedding ceremony; and then there was no time to do anything else beyond smile pleasantly at her new neighbours in greeting before John and Andy appeared.

They made a point of greeting everyone they recognised at the front and then John nervously eyed the chapel doors for a glimpse of Donna.

"If she's got any sense she will have escaped," Andy joked to lighten the mood.

Not that Verity seemed amused by his words, but John cheered up enormously. His relief, however, when the wedding march started to be played by the resident organist, was palpable; and Karen couldn't help feeling uplifted by the sheer joy on his face once he spotted Donna making her way towards him down the aisle.

As is the custom, they all stood and turned to watch the bridal procession; with lots of gasps of admiration along the way. The lighting, the décor, the wedding dress and the beaming smile on the bride's face all helped to make her beautiful. The lone bridesmaid behind Donna was Jenny and she wore a chic blue column dress that matched the surpluses the choir wore.

Everyone had such happy smiles on their faces that you could not help grinning along with them.

Now seated again, having been officially welcomed to the gathering, and with tears in her eyes, Karen watched the wedding ceremony, envious of the adoring focused looks John and Donna exchanged with each other before reciting their vows. She inevitably compared it all to the shambles of a wedding she had once endured with her ex-husband Steve; and allowed the hope that things could be different with Roderick in the future to begin to grow in her heart. It was obviously too soon to expect anything like that, but a girl can dream, Karen told herself. So she let herself wallow in a day dream.

The choir sang while the wedding couple went to sign the registrar's book in an anteroom, and then there was the final procession out of the chapel. Karen knew when they appeared back in the aisle to do so because a beautiful tune she was now familiar with floated out from every direction. She waited in her position until everyone had filed out and Roderick joined her, taking her case to the small vestry room John and Andy had waited in, to be retrieved after the photos had been taken.

~o0o~


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** it was all written so I thought I might as well post the ending.

* * *

 **Part 9**

.

They were all stood around waiting for the main couple to finish posing for wedding photos, before they would be seated and the celebratory meal served. Not knowing anyone beyond the immediate wedding party, Karen was rather at a loss what to do with herself, and she'd grown tired of smiling at random strangers. Then she spotted Roderick's mother and twin, so she shifted slightly nearer, hoping they would initiate a conversation.

"Did you want to go and talk to Roderick's girlfriend?" Donald quietly asked his mother.

"No," she sternly answered. "Have you met her? Good gracious. She's Northern," Verity worded carefully to Donald within her hearing.

"A lot of people generally are, Mother," Donald retaliated.

"Yes, but she's," Verity lowered her voice to sneer, "Incurably so. I had not realised how common she sounded. Even more than Donna."

"Mother," Donald whined in exasperation. "Is there anybody you are willing to like when first meeting them?"

"I'm sure I have," Verity defended herself. "I did with… Oh no, I didn't like her then."

"That is my point," Donald retorted. "Now come and be pleasant with some of John's associates."

Her faced scrunched up in disgust. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do." He then led her protesting form well away from where Karen was standing; trying to pretend that she hadn't heard a word.

But Karen's eyes smarted despite her best efforts to ignore what she'd overheard, and she wanted to run as far away from this foreign place as possible. Turning, she bumped straight into Roderick.

"There you are, Karen," he greeted her, and lifted her hand to kiss her fingertips. "I want you to come and meet my choir."

"I don't think I should," she cautiously denied.

"Why not?" he grumbled. "Come on, and then I can let them all go home," he said to persuade her, knowing she would think of the children's wellbeing.

"Alright," she conceded, secretly pleased that he wanted to show her off. "By the way, any idea where I will be sitting during the meal?"

He leaned in to whisper, "Indeed I do. You will be sitting right next to me."

Immediately her spirits lifted, and she knew she could cope after all.

~o0o~

The rest of the day hadn't gone too badly, considering. Roderick had stuck by Karen's side throughout the proceedings, despite his mother's often voiced annoyance that he wasn't at her beck and call. Donald, bless him, had done his best to be a suitable replacement. John and Donna agreed that they would send him a special reward for his kind gesture when they got back from their honeymoon.

"So when do you think Roderick will propose to her?" Donna quietly asked her new husband as they danced a slow waltz together.

"Oh," he whispered into her ear, "I wouldn't put it pass him to try very soon."

"Already?" she wondered. "A bit quick, don't you think? He's only known her five minutes."

"And yet you thought to ask when he would do so," he teased in return. "What I do know is: he's chosen her."

She smirked at him. "Would that be with your Gallifreyan superpowers?"

"You know me too well," he playfully murmured. "But should you want to double check anything, we can take this conversation to the bedroom."

"It would seem you know me as well," she whispered, lightly touching his earlobe and sending a shudder through his body. "Time to take you to bed."

They exchanged a brief but sensual kiss, full of promises for their evening to come.

Watching them, Andy stood and commented to Roderick, "They're at it again. I'd better make sure their getaway car is ready for the journey. Is everything in the box?"

Roderick nodded. "Donald wanted to help you."

"Does he? Good man," Andy noted to himself. "Keep them here until I give you the signal. Won't be long."

With a grateful pat on his brother's shoulder, Andy soon left to decorate John's car.

"Won't John be annoyed if you coat his car in stuff?" Karen anxiously asked.

"Probably not," Roderick assured her. "Especially if Andy is involved. He'll expect it."

"Having brothers would do that, I suppose," she remarked. "What about your mother's reaction?"

"We learned that it is better to ask for forgiveness than seek permission," he supplied. "Although I will admit that I sought her permission to make you my girlfriend."

"What! Why?" Karen demanded to know. "More than a bit old-fashioned, you must admit."

He dipped his head in agreement. "We are a very old fashioned in that respect. You may be surprised to find out that John asked Mother's permission to become engaged to Donna." When he gained the shocked reaction he expected, he continued, "I'm afraid that as Gallifreyans, that is the way we are brought up."

"What are Gallifreyans?" she inevitably asked.

"Can we dance while I explain?" he requested, standing up to offer his hand. "It will be easier this way."

"I don't understand all the cloak and dagger stuff," she stated, getting up to dance with him. But at least he was dancing with her now; she'd thought that wouldn't happen. "Go on then, what's a Gallifreyan?"

"It is what we are and where we come from," he answered, swirling them around the dance floor. "Our culture is very precious to us, since we are the last of our kind."

She frowned; following his movements perfectly. "I still don't understand. How are you different? Are you a special religious sect, or do you come from far away?"

"Very far away," he reluctantly admitted. "Way out," he added, waving a hand vaguely towards the sky.

"From Mars?" she scoffed.

"Further than that," he near whispered.

"Alien?" she mouthed at him, and gasped when he confirmed it with a nod. "This is a joke."

He held her tighter to his body. "I assure you it isn't. And I'm sorry for telling you only now but I had to choose the right moment when you'd possibly understand."

"What makes you think I do right now?"

"Because we have shared love, we have proved we have feelings for each other," he declared, "and I would like things to progress further."

"You do?" she murmured in wonder. "How much further?"

This needed careful handling in privacy, so he halted their dancing and led her outside to somewhere quieter. Once he was sure no one could hear them, he pulled her close again.

"I know you didn't want me to say this yet, but I love you," he quietly confessed. "You told me earlier that you loved this setting and the atmosphere in these buildings. All this could permanently be yours if you can let yourself admit you love me too. Will you marry me?"

She took a deep breath and responded, "No."

It felt as though the heart in his chest stopped beating; clenching painfully as shock washed over him. "No?"

"I can't; I really can't," she clarified. "I can't just move down here and abandon my life to be with you. I have my mother to worry about, and Charley can't go to university unless I look after Will for her. She can't afford to feed herself let alone pay for a childminder."

It took every ounce of his willpower to remain calm. "I see."

"I'm not saying that I don't care for you, because I do," she assured him. "But right now my family needs me."

"More than me?" He regretted the question as soon as it left his lips. It made him sound whiny and selfish, when all he needed to know was where he stood.

Just as he expected, she bit back, "You coped without me before all this."

He tried to stop himself from pleading, but it happened anyway. "What makes you think I can cope without you now? Not when I know how wonderful life can be with you in it. As for your mother and Charley, I can pay for the right help."

"No, I won't ask that of you," she insisted. She'd been financially independent in the past and she could carry on being so. "It wouldn't be right for me to do so."

It was make or break time. "Would it be considered right if the person offering help loves you? I love you, Karen Cooper. I love you and your family."

"Don't make this harder for me to walk away from you than it need be. Please don't!" she begged. "This being with you has been wonderful, like a dream come true. But I have to get back to reality now. The real world; full of colostomy bags and baby dribble."

A world that evidently didn't include him, he realised. "You're leaving me?" he softly asked.

"I have to. Don't you see that?" she reasoned. "I… you need someone who can be there all the time, and I've distracted you for long enough, from your music and everything."

"It will never be enough," he countered. "Please reconsider."

Suddenly making up her mind to free him, she stated, "I can't. This is it. Goodbye, Roderick. Perhaps we can give this another go in a couple of years? If you're still interested."

The old saying says: if you love them enough you let them go. No matter how much his heart ached for her, he had to let her return to him when she was ready. "I'll wait for you. Goodbye my love."

"Bye," she murmured through her tears; and then with a sniff, she turned and walked away, hoping he wouldn't hate her for breaking their hearts.

A sharp pain hit him in the chest and he staggered, holding himself up by laying a hand on the stone wall behind him. Should he give in to this need to run after her and insist she stay? That would be selfish; and she was right, her family needed her. They depended on her, especially her mother, and he was merely an inconvenient pastime.

"Roderick?!" Andy cried out when he saw him hunched over in agony. "What's happened? Are you alright?"

Beside him, Donald raced forward and grabbed hold of his twin, easing him into a more comfortable position. "Where's the pain? Shall I call an ambulance?"

"No," Roderick forced himself to reply, wanting to take away the frightened expressions on his brothers' faces. "It will eventually pass."

"It's a broken initiated bond," Donald informed Andy.

"Oh man!" he gasped out sympathetically, throwing himself on Roderick. "I'm so sorry." He added another consoling hug, knowing that this time it would be accepted. "Where's Karen?"

"She left me," Roderick whimpered, not knowing what else to say.

But it was enough; and his brothers took him away to offer comfort.

~o0o~

Life went on, and Roderick plastered on pleased smiles when John and Donna returned home to boast about their honeymoon. He fought the gaping hole within him that begged to end things, because he could do this. He was a proud Gallifreyan, and he was strong enough to cope.

Oh he was aware of whisperings behind his back, how Sarah, Donna and his mother talked about his wellbeing with deep concern, that they rightly feared his emotionless exterior was hiding a broken heart. Not that he liked the way his mother plotted to find him a suitable alternative for Karen. He had chosen who he wanted, and there would be no other in his life.

Even the continuing success of St Cuthbert's choir could fill the void in his life, and for the first time ever music didn't satisfy the craving in his soul. But he had to bear this. He just had to.

And Jenny, bless her, had welded herself to his side; constantly asking for tuition, advice and company. It had been a pleasure to watch her musical talent blossom. It hadn't cured his pain, but she had eased it.

A few months later his fortieth birthday loomed large and threatening on the horizon. He suspected his family would not let it go passed neglected. At least he could celebrate it for Donald's sake.

It was for this reason that he chose to ignore the alarm bell in his head when Jenny had coyly grabbed his hand and insisted, "We have to go to Grandma's dining room straight away because we're needed. I don't know why."

The double doors burst open to reveal balloons, several people and a cake.

"I thought I said I didn't want a surprise birthday party," he snarled at the happy, expectant expressions that greeted him.

"You must have guessed we'd do this so it can hardly be considered to be a surprise," Andy argued.

"He's right," Donald added, giving in to the need to hug his twin brother. "Happy birthday, Roderick."

Turning his head, Roderick silently noted the familiar eager faces smiling their good wishes for him. It would be churlish to deny them this opportunity to pour love onto them but in truth, he wanted to run away and hide, lick his wounds as his longing to be with Karen tried to reach out and squeeze his heart.

"Happy birthday, Donald," he forced himself to trill instead, and then accepted the kiss on the cheek from their mother.

"Happy birthday, my handsome boys," she greeted them. "We shall now do the presents."

Oh great! Now he had to feign interest in a load of ill-chosen gifts. Just what he wanted to spend his day doing. Not.

"Uncle Roderick?" a hesitant voice wavered. Young David stepped warily forward to proffer a package. "I made you this."

"Thank you," Roderick immediately responded with very low expectations.

"Go on then, open it," Sarah encouraged him, so he tore open the wrapping paper and gazed in confusion at the silken contents.

Were they deliberately trying to upset him by handing over such an item?! "It's a..." He couldn't bring himself to say the words. To voice them would give physical form to his emotional pain.

Typically, it was Andy who bit the bullet. "It's a bonding band," he enthused.

"Thank you, Andy," Roderick sarcastically responded. "And what good would such an item do me, pray tell?"

"You could use it to actually bond with someone," Donald pointed out. "It's about time you were married."

Roderick gawped at his brother in hurt amazement. Did he really want to publicly rub salt into his wounds? He thought Donald was much more compassionate then that. "A fine sentiment but I don't have anyone who would want to marry me."

"Are you sure about that?" Andy gleefully asked. "John!" He called out, "Can you bring in our present now?"

Silence fell upon the gathering as they all waited with bated breaths.

The heavy wooden doors clunked open, to reveal Donna standing there. "Oops! Sorry. Am I too late?"

"No, you're just in time," Andy welcomed her in.

She ran up to Roderick and presented him with a small, fancily decorated carrier bag. "You might need this," she told him.

With a sneer, he peered in and saw a small box of the sort that rings come in. "Have you bought me a signet ring?" he wondered.

"Not quite," she enigmatically answered. "Why don't you look over there?" She nodded her head sideways.

"Eh?" Roderick bodily turned, and saw John gently push forward a ginger haired woman. "Karen!" he gasped.

"Hello Roderick," she shyly said. "Happy birthday." With an encouraging nod from John, she continued, "The party wasn't the big surprise your family planned. There's more."

"More," he faintly repeated as beautifully choir music started up; sung from somewhere outside the room, probably the hallway.

"Put the poor lad out of his misery," Nancy appeared by her side to chivvy her. "There's nowt of him now and he'll fair fade away waiting for you to say owt about it."

Karen glared at her mother before telling Roderick, "Your niece Jenny kidnapped your choir members and persuaded them to sing some of your favourite songs."

"But why?"

"So that I could do this." She glanced to where Charley and Daniel carrying Will stepped forward on the other side of the room to beam happily at him. "Will you marry me?"

Unable to believe this was happening, Roderick sought the gaze of first his brothers and then their mother. All of them were sending him encouraging vibes.

"Say yes, you numpty," Donald verbally prodded.

"Yes! Oh yes please," Roderick allowed himself to reply; rushing to embrace Karen and share a sweet, tender kiss.

It didn't matter that David began to wrap the bonding band around Roderick and Karen wrists, that the personal invasion was unexpected but not entirely unwelcome. All he could think of was the happiness in his heart as he held the woman he loved.

Leaning forward to brush his lips against Karen's ear, Roderick whispered the words he'd been longing to say, forging a bond between them that would only improve over time.

"Oh. You really are alien," Karen whispered back in shock. "I thought you'd been exaggerating."

"Everything is true," he quietly confirmed.

"Then we'd better get on with this wedding," she remarked, "because I for one cannot wait."

"All booked for tomorrow," Donald supplied. "We thought we'd give you the chance to get over the shock of being engaged first, but you almost got married tonight."

"A bit of a shock," Roderick agreed, "but a good one. A very good one. With lots of kissing the bride..."

~o0O0o~


End file.
